Monday, April 25, 2011

This past Saturday was the premiere of series (season) 6 of Doctor Who with a tandem release in the UK and the US. That is only the second time the US audience has been able to watch a Doctor Who episode the same day as the UK. If you are not a regular reader let me say I am a big Doctor Who fan and it has been featured on this blog frequently. The anticipation has been building for months and the premiere did not disappoint. As ever we are left with more questions than answers.

Who is River Song? Did you know who really die? Who was in that suit? Why did Rory said "gasoline" instead of "petrol"? I don't know but who would have thought that little line would generate a slew of anti-American tirades and conspiracy theories? What I do know is that Rory & Amy have IKEA in their apartment!

In the opening scenes of the episode we get to see the domestic life of the Ponds outside the TARDIS. First and most prominently is an EXPEDIT 4x4 unit.

During the commercial when I mentioned what I saw I got chastised for focusing on something other than the show itself (especially since I was making my whole family watch it). Although my spotting illness tends to get the better of me I must say, in my defense, in this instance how could I not notice it? Like an elephant in the room an EXPEDIT tends to stand out. If it had been a smaller item I probably wouldn't have strayed from the scene.

I only spotted a LUNS organizer/board when I was going back through the episode to get screencaps of the EXPEDIT. The one used here is white, you can see it on the left far wall.

We don't see too much more of their apartment and the kitchen is surprisingly lacking in IKEA from what I could see. It is refreshing to see a set that isn't entirely IKEA. It is good to show the world how well the right IKEA items can mix with other brands and styles.

My frustration that the premiere episode ended in a cliff hanger was dampened by the dedication to Elisabeth Sladen after the final credits. I had to explain to my non-Whovian family who she was and I was getting choked up talking about her. Indulge me as I take a moment and say good-bye here.

No. The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship... Everything has its time. And everything ends.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

I know in the past I have used my niece to explain why I watch teen shows on Nick. Although that is how it started I have to admit that I now watch them on my own. There is no shame in that. You cannot shame me.

Over dinner one night my niece recounted the events of the recent iCarly: iOMG episode and sadly I was eager to watch it for myself. In this episode there was a brand new set in the school which I hadn't seen before and it was chock full of IKEA goodness. While I am glad to have spotted some new IKEA items I must admit I was more exited by the big OMG moment. My inner teen fan girl let out a little squee. Then my inner fan girl had a tantrum because she would have to wait months for the conclusion. Ugh. Torture!

Anyway, onto the spotting! In this new classroom / work area we are going to explore you can see in this wide shot a DOCKSTA - background left, BILLSTA bar table- middle center, and STENSTORP kitchen island - background center. We'll see close ups in a moment.

Close-up of the STENSTORP kitchen island being used as a work table. There are at least 2 in this set.

It is a real shame that I had to rewatch this episode a few times to get all these screencaps. Even the big OMG moment even if it didn't have anything IKEA in it. /sarcasm

Sure it is a show directed at teens and pre-teens but I have to admit iCarly can be highly entertaining. Not entirely realistic and it has some continuity issues but it is funny. The cast has really grown into their roles and know how to deliver the lines. This episode in particular was well written (with Old Spice, Silence of the Lambs & Spinal Tap shout-outs), well acted and nicely designed.

Monday, April 18, 2011

One of the drawbacks of this IKEA spotting illness I have is that sometimes it is hard for me to get absorbed in a movie or show because my brain instinctively starts scanning the scene looking for something IKEA. Fortunately, when I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in November I thought I would be in the clear. Certainly neither the Burrow nor Hogwarts is going to have anything from IKEA. True, they don't but unlike previous movies Deathly Hallows takes place in more muggle locations which do have spotting potential.

When I first saw the movie in the theaters I noticed the shelving in the cafe and thought they looked promising.

I believed those shelves to be EKBY BJÄRNUM line. The brackets raised the flag on this.

One of the things I love about IKEA is that they have less expensive versions of other items. When it comes to shelving it is sometimes a judgement call. In a scene like this, where everything is cluttered and in the background I couldn't say for sure. Unless something is distinctly IKEA or I have a second reference to support it I try to avoid making definitive statements.

It wasn't until I brought home the DVD and began watching the behind the scenes featurettes that I felt I was on to something.

Also, a little extra trivia, the poster directly over his left shoulder is from EQUUS; the play Daniel Radcliffe did on Broadway. You may have heard about it because he was naked. I saw it.

Here's a shot from the same featurette showing the SPONTAN close up.

Now, in the movie itself, it is much harder to spot these because they are on the wall opposite of all the action. Determined however I switched over the the movie, warmed up my pause finger and set out to get a shot from the movie itself.

And there it is, on the left side of the frame. This scene is very action packed so the edits were quick but I got lucky. Upon further review of the scene I am pretty confident that the above shelves were indeed Ekby BJÄRNUM. Who would have thought I would find IKEA in the world of Harry Potter?

One last thing - although not from the movie I did spot something in another featurette. In the make-up trailer during The Return of Griphook featurette there are TROFAST storage units.

Even the professionals recognize the practicality and usefulness of IKEA.

Monday, April 11, 2011

While I was having my Torchwood marathon I decided I was also going to watch the cross-over episodes of Doctor Who in proper chronological order. After the end of Torchwood series 1 Captain Jack caught up again with the Doctor and stayed with him for the last few episodes in series 3 (2007). It was in one of these episodes where we see Martha's (the Doctor's companion in series 3) apartment and in it are some IKEA furnishings.

There is a LEKSVIK rack in the corner by the door. I like this shot because it shows the rack reflected in the mirror and you are looking through the de-materializing TARDIS. (For the record, this screencap comes from episode 6 while the rest are from episode 12) Also - that laundry rack is the same one seen in Gwen's apartment in Torchwood. Can anyone say if that is older IKEA product or another popular brand available in Wales? As always, click for larger image.

In the 2nd episode of series 1 there is an outdoor cafe. It looks like the tables have GRÖNÖ lamps. I initially thought the table & chairs were IKEA but I can't seem to match them. There are things in their current catalog that are close but not quite. Am I missing something?

Series 1, Episode 6 - on the wall is a GRUNDTAL rail with hooks & accessories.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

My geek cred was recently challenged. It was good natured ribbing from a friend but I got a little defensive. I mean, I get mocked for being geeky and then I get mocked for not being geeky enough? You can understand how that can frustrate a girl. I'm proud of my geekiness. I could cite numerous geek evidence like my Lord of the Rings collection, the Locutus action figure I've had since junior high or my Bruce Campbell video collection but I really only need to submit one piece of evidence to support my case.

I write a blog dedicated to spotting IKEA furniture in TV and movies. That is pretty geeky. And fun. On top of that look at some of the shows I've featured: Firefly, Chuck, The Big Bang Theory, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, Stargate: Universe, Mythbusters and Doctor Who. Yup. Big ole geek.

To further prove my friend wrong I fired up my Netflix and settled in for a Tochwoodmarathon. Torchwood was originally created in 2006 as a spin-off of Doctor Who. The first 3 seasons were filmed primarily in Cardiff, Wales. I wasn't too surprised when I started seeing IKEA items throughout the show since Doctor Who also films in Cardiff and we've seen them use IKEA quite a bit.

In the very first episode we see that Torchwood uses a tourist office as cover for the secret entrance to the Hub. On that door is a SPONTAN magazine rack.

Tosh's apartment changes between series 1 and series 2. The following is from her series 1 apartment. In Tosh's kitchen there are BURKEN Jars, over her left shoulder on the shelf.

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I need your help. If you have spotted something, please let me know by sending an email to ikeaspotter [at] gmail [dot] com with the name of the show, when and what you saw and I will add it to the blog. If you can send me a screencap as well then that would be great. If not, do not worry I will track down the item based on the information you provided. Happy spotting. Tack så mycket

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